UK linkers outperform despite falling inflation expectations Despite the UK’s monetary policy committee highlighting weak inflation today, inflation-linked gilts have proved to be a strong investment so far this year. UK inflation-linked gilts have returned 5% so far this year, outperforming gilts by 0.8%… Subscribe to Read MoreAlready a member? Log in here...

Last year the Markit iBoxx € Banks index was one of the outperforming bond sectors in Europe having returned 1.0%. The index which is largely made up of bonds issued by European banks, even managed to outperform defensive sectors such as Healthcare and Utilities, while Europe’s ongoing regulatory oversight and relaxed monetary… Subscribe to Read

The economies of Italy and China don’t appear to have much in common. Italy’s government would welcome a GDP growth rate of 1%, while China expands less than 7% and investors take flight. One is a sclerotic, decaying Western country, the other is a dynamic Asian tiger. Such is the conventional wisdom. But look beyond…

If European credit investors had to name two names damaged by the precipitous fall in commodity prices, it is likely that Glencore and Anglo American would top the poll. The two mining firms have seen their credit spreads widen dramatically and are now quoted upfront, the only credits in the Markit iTraxx Europe… Subscribe to

Back in August 2014 I wrote a note that highlighted how the restructuring of Banco Espirito Santo (BES) exposed flaws in the 2003 ISDA CDS definitions, flaws that should be remedied by the new definitions introduced later that year. It was a far from perfect situation but a CDS succession event followed and that was…

Exactly seven years after the US Federal Reserve (Fed) decided to embark on a zero interest rate policy, the state of the US economy has finally been deemed strong enough to withstand the path towards normalisation. With the 25bps hike wrapped in very cautious forward guidance, financial markets reacted… Subscribe to Read MoreAlready a member?

The commodities rout continued in earnest this week as oil prices hit recent multi year lows, while industrial metal prices also retreated to levels lower than those seen in the depths of the volatility earlier in the year. These developments are not surprisingly translating into further pain for bond investors in resource dependent sectors with both investment…

Puerto Rico’s (PR) development bank successfully made a $354m debt payment this week, closely staving off defaulting on its GDB bonds. PR’s 8% 2035 GO bond saw its price climb 2.5pts to 75.00 (cash basis to par) according to Markit’s municipal bond pricing service. The jump marked a new two… Subscribe to Read MoreAlready a

Military tension with Turkey has sent Russia’s CDS spread wider this morning but Russia’s apparent rapprochement with the west has seen investors treat Russian bonds in a much brighter light. After spending the first three months of the year in purgatory due to the continuing fighting in East… Subscribe to Read MoreAlready a member? Log

Emerging market credit has had a volatile second half (H2) in 2015. Falling commodity prices, slowing global trade and a strong US dollar have all impacted credit risk, nowhere more than in the Asean region. 5-yr CDS spreads, which measure implied credit risk, rose steadily in August and September with… Subscribe to Read MoreAlready a